NO grumbling or muttering is allowed or appropriate. Lingering hard feelings over labor politics between Boeing and the Machinists union must yield to a golden reality.

Final assembly of the 777X and fabrication of the plane’s carbon-fiber composite wing are major, long-term achievements for union workers and the Washington state economy.

Boeing affirms the value and the quality of the work done in its Puget Sound plants, and it puts an exclamation point on that expression of confidence with major investments in assembly and fabrication facilities.

Boeing workers will be on the leading edge of new manufacturing skills in a changing industry with an evolving product. That is the essence of a symbiotic future with sustained sales and long-term employment.

Union members took a couple of hard votes, but the outcomes work in their favor. Boeing has a demonstrated history of making poor choices, and the company might well have spited itself if the final outcome had been different.

Lessons to be learned were plentiful with the 787 and its contagion of outsourcing all over the planet, including the wings to Japan.

The corporate announcement on 777X final assembly and wing fabrication is a boon for both management and labor. May they both prosper. All of Washington is a beneficiary of their success.

Boeing builds the best planes in the world. This state and region are very proud to be home to all the dedicated, skilled employees who make it happen.

Celebrate a special moment. Then back to work doing all those fixes for the South Carolina plant.